


Romance at the Hanami: Saturday Afternoon

by junko



Series: the distance between us [16]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-20
Updated: 2012-05-20
Packaged: 2017-11-05 17:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/408914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After leaving Byakuya to his tea ceremony, Renji runs into Kyouraku and Ukitake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Romance at the Hanami: Saturday Afternoon

After escorting Byakuya safely to the tea ceremony, Renji found himself with some time to kill. A nap was sounding pretty good right about now, and so he started making his way back to the guest quarters.

“Ho, ho! If it isn’t one of our colleagues!” came a familiar voice. “Renji Abarai!”

At the sound of his name, Renji scanned the garden until he spotted Captain Shunsui Kyōraku waving from a blanket spread out in the shade. He was hard to miss. The captain was dressed exactly the same as in the Seireitei—a straw traveling hat titled on his head and the garish pink kimono thrown over his captain’s haori. Though Renji thought perhaps the captain had upgraded the kimono a little for the Hanami because, if possible, it was an even hotter shade of pink.

“Your hair is down,” the captain remarked patting a spot on the blanket for Renji, and giving him a broad wink. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Uh, sorry, what’s that, sir?”

“That you’re here with Mr. Byakuya, of course!” he gave a hearty laugh. “And where _is_ your remarkably reticent and antisocial partner? Hiding somewhere, perhaps? Avoiding the crowds and his family?”

“That was last night. Today, he’s at tea,” Renji said, feeling a bit strange settling down next to a captain he barely knew. There was a picnic lunch set out. There was enough food to feed a small army and three jugs of sake. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, no, in fact, I’m sure Jūshirō would scold me if I didn’t insist you join us.”

Before Renji could ask exactly who Jūshirō was, Captain Ukitake came strolling up, his hands full of _taiyaki_. He, too, had stuck with his usual uniform, but, honestly, with all the color swirling around him, Ukitake looked positively stunning in white and black with his long snow-colored hair.

He smiled broadly when he saw Renji. “Oh, excellent!” he said. Settling down, he handed Kyrōaku and Renji each a fish-shaped pancake wrapped in waxy paper. “The vender convinced me to buy so many more than we needed. Such a shameless flirt! And I’m so easily flattered,” he confessed with a little blush, setting a few extras on a plate, “I’m glad my foolishness won’t be wasted.”

“I’m personally quite fond of your foolishness,” Kyōraku said, leaning over to plant a quick kiss on Ukitake cheek.

Ukitake glanced briefly but meaningfully at Renji, who desperately tried not to look surprised or scandalized. Despite Kyrōaku’s constant flirting with his lieutenant, Renji had suspected these two were an item. To kiss like that in public, however… well, honestly, Renji was a more jealous than shocked.

Kyōraku waved off Ukitake concern with another laugh. Taking off his hat, he laid his head in Ukitake’s lap. Looking up at Ukitake, he said, “It’s all right, Jūshirō. Mr. Renji is here _with_ Mr. Byakuya.”

Renji nearly choked on the pancake.

“Oh! Yes, I remember now, your story of Zaraki’s ‘advice’! Hilarious!” Ukitake said. His smile turned into a thoughtful frown. “But, are you sure? I thought Rukia and he were….” he stopped himself, looking chagrined. “I’m sorry, Renji. We shouldn’t talk about you as though you’re not here.”

Frankly, Renji wished he were invisible, though, given the bright red blush on his cheeks, he was probably lit up like a beacon instead. “It’s okay,” he coughed. “Really.”

“You need sake,” Kyōraku said wisely. Sitting up, he dug around in their picnic things until he found a bowl. Handing it to Renji, he filled it. “Lots of sake. Trust me, everything improves with sake.”

“Now, now,” Ukitake chided. “Don’t get the boy drunk. Byakuya won’t appreciate you sending him home in that state.”

“We’ll sip slowly, won’t we, Mr. Renji?” Kyōraku said, tipping back the cup he filled for himself and downing the entire contents in a single gulp. Refilling it immediately, he said, “Very slowly.”

Ukitake shook his head. “I despair of you. I really do.”

 

#

Fifteen minutes later, Renji was a lot more relaxed and a little bit buzzed. At least for every cup Kyōraku filled, Ukitake handed him something to eat. Though he was disappointed all the _taiyaki_ were gone already; they were his absolute favorite.

He leaned back against his arms and breathed in the cool spring air, feeling full and content. Sun filtered through the fluffy pink blossoms overhead, and flashed brilliantly in the clear blue sky. The captains’ picnic spot was near where the creek widened to become a marshy lake. Herons hunted among the tall grasses. Noblemen and women strolled under parasols.

Kyōraku had his hat over his face, and appeared to be snoring where he sprawled on the blanket. A bowl of sake was balanced precariously on his broad, hairy chest, and his head rested lightly against Ukitake’s knee.

Ukitake, for his part, seemed to be enjoying people watching. He smiled to himself in apparent appreciation of the gardens and all its visitors. When he noticed Renji looking at him, he said, “I never get tired of it.”

“Of what, sir?”

He lifted a hand to indicate the Festival, “All this. It makes you realize how precious our time is, doesn’t it?”

Renji nodded. He supposed that living with an illness gave Ukitake a special take on the cherry blossom festival. It was true that it would only be a matter of days before the petals faded and began to fall. Strains of Senbonzakura’s haunting music floated through his mind at the thought.

“I don’t mean to intrude,” Ukitake said, frowning a little as he nibbled on a bit of confection, “but are you sure you know what you’re doing with Byakuya?”

Renji blinked at the bluntness of the question. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Truthfully? No, sir. No idea at all.”

“It’s dangerous business,” muttered Kyōraku from under his hat. “To enter a game of love with a man like Mr. Byakuya without a plan of attack or an exit strategy that doesn’t involve getting skewered. In a non-fun way, that is.”

Ukitake rapped a scolding knuckle lightly against the straw hat.

Kyōraku lifted an edge long enough to receive the stink eye from Ukitake, before shrugging it off with a lascivious little laugh and hiding back under the hat.

“I will tell you, Renji,” Ukitake continued, “that I’m concerned about Rukia. How will she feel to discover her lover has taken up with her elder brother?”

 _Lover?_ It took Renji a few seconds to understand exactly what the captain meant. “You’re mistaken, sir. Rukia and I… there’s been nothing like that since before Academy. I hardly qualify as her lover--if I ever did.”

In fact, since becoming a Kuchiki, he rarely even saw her, so little their lives intersected. He still missed her, but she’d put herself so far above him that he had no idea how to even approach her… or if he should.

“Oh? _Before_ Academy? That long?” Ukitake shook his head slightly in disbelief, “That’s not how she talks about you. Not at all.”

“She talks about me?” Renji asked. “What does she say?”

Kyōraku propped himself up on an elbow, and tilted his hat to look at Renji curiously.

“I suppose nothing so obvious,” Ukitake said, “But all her stories start ‘Renji and I’ or end with ‘I wonder what Renji would think of…’”

“Sounds like love to me,” agreed Kyōraku, who sat all the way up now and had somehow managed to rescue his sake bowl before it spilled.

“No,” Renji said, pulling himself to his feet suddenly. “Don’t do this to me. Rukia can’t be harboring feelings. She _can’t_ , god damn it. I didn’t want to, but I let her go. I walked away so she could flourish. If she’s still holding on… then….” _I’m still holding her back._

His hands clenched into fists.

No, it had to be a mistake.

“I should check on my captain,” Renji said, and then bowed deeply. “Thank you for your hospitality, sirs.”

As he walked away, he could hear Kyōraku say, “Mr. Renji, don’t leave like this.” To which Ukitake said quietly, “Leave it, Shunsui.”

“Hmph,” Kyōraku muttered, “Things were just getting interesting, too.”

 

#

Renji made his way back in the direction of the _chashitsu_ where the tea ceremony was being held. As he approached, he could see that Byakuya was already surrounded. Worse, it seemed he’d finally been cornered by his aunt.

As tempting as it was to barge in and mount a rescue, Renji held back, hovering near the gate to the private path. There were no other servants or retainers among the crowd. For all he knew, one of those nobles could be the Spirit King himself. Blundering into that would be more than ballsy, it would be seriously dangerous.

Besides, the look on Byakuya’s face was one of… resignation. He might be suffering, but he’d clearly decided to put up with it.

Renji turned away from the path to try to figure out where all the other entourage-types waited for their lords and masters. When he noticed a herd of unadorned black kimonos and a few restless military sorts gathered in the shade on the far side of the tea hut, he knew he’d found the right spot to wait.

One of the bodyguards gave him a once over followed by a quick nod, as Renji settled against the trunk of tree. He closed his eyes, leaning his head against the tree trunk, his mind still turning over what Ukitake said about Rukia. She talked about him? A lot? Really? It was hard to believe. He thought that ship had sailed a long time ago.

For so long she’d become something completely unattainable --a nobleman’s sister, living a life so different from his, particularly while he was in the Eleventh.

Now—what?

What was he supposed to think now?

Especially now. Why did he have to find this out now?

Damn it all.

“Are you asleep, Lieutenant? Or are you… _thinking_?”

Renji opened his eyes to see Byakuya standing in front of him, a slight twinkle of amusement in his gaze.

He was about to reply with something randy, but stopped short when he saw the lady Kuchiki not far behind Byakuya’s shoulder.

“Ah, yes,” Byakuya said, following Renji’s gaze. “I’m not sure you’ve been properly introduced to my aunt, the lady Masami Kuchiki.”

Renji desperately tried to remember exactly how low to bow.

He must have done all right, because she merely sniffed rather than sneered out right.

“I have no idea why you don’t have a proper entourage, Byakuya-chan, instead of parading around with a…” she finally gave into the sneer, “soldier.”

“This soldier is more than capable,” Byakuya said. “Why bring an army when one man can do the job?”

“Because,” she sighed. “An army looks more impressive.”

“Perhaps,” Byakuya agreed coolly. “But only to someone with a less discerning eye, one easily fooled by surface appearances.”

Yowch. But if Byakuya’s auntie was offended, she didn’t show it.

“Still,” she insisted. “You could bring a tidier one next time. One with fewer…. someone who better represents the Division.”

Reistsu thrummed instantly at the insult. A slight wind pulled cherry blossoms from their branches, swirling around them like Senbonzakura’s shikai.

“Madame,” Byakuya said sharply. “That’s quite enough. I’ll have you know that Lieutenant Abarai is second only to me. He represents the very best of my division. To doubt that is to doubt my judgment.”

If she dared to make a snide comeback, they didn’t hear it, as Byakuya crisply led Renji down the path and out.

“Damn,” Renji smiled once they’d gone a short distance. “You have a mighty fine pair yourself, sir.”

Though Renji couldn’t see Byakuya’s face, he could hear a slight smile as he said, “Indeed.”


End file.
